Former President of Argentina On Trial for Tax Fraud

Former Argentinean President Carlos Menem is back in court, this time for allegedly falsifying his tax returns.

Prosecutors in Buenos Aires say Menem, 83, concealed bank accounts with millions of dollars, along with two light aircraft, properties, cars and stocks, the BBC reports.

Menem, currently an Argentinean senator, served as president of the country from 1989 to 1999. He denies the charges.

In June, Menem was sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of illegal weapons trafficking during his time as president. He remains free because as a senator, he enjoys parliamentary immunity.

In the tax-fraud trial, the prosecution claims that Menem falsified his tax returns for the year 2000 by failing to report two bank accounts — including one valued at $6 million.

He faces six years in prison if convicted.

In June, Menem was found guilty of illegally selling weapons and ammunition to Ecuador and Croatia — nations that were subject to international arms embargos — during his decade-long presidency.

The Associated Press reported that Menem has also been accused in connection with a 1995 explosion at a weapons factory that killed seven people and wounded dozens more. Prosecutors believe the blast was intended to eliminate evidence of arms trafficking.